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Committee Reports and Agendas
May 2007 to Present
 | NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL Education Executive |
| Agenda Item 2 13 November 2007 |
| Subject: | Review of the School Estate |
| Purpose: | To report to the Education Executive on the work of the School Estate Review Group. |
| Recommendation: | That the Education Executive agrees to:
|
- receive reports from officers on current school provision in all sectors.
- identify areas for potential rationalisation and improvement.
- consider potential amendments to school catchment areas.
- agree a timetable for reporting on a phased basis.
- agree proposals for consideration by the Council.
- produce an initial report with proposals on the primary sector by November 2007 so that account can be taken of the Group's recommendations in drawing up the 2008/2011 revenue and capital budgets.
- COSLA School Estates Management Good Practice Guide (Appendix 2)
- North Ayrshire School Roll Trends (Appendix 3)
- Current Approved Capital Programme (Appendix 4)
- School Rolls and Capacities (Appendix 5)
- Condition Rating of All Schools (Appendix 6)
- Nursery Class Provision in Schools (Appendix 7)
- Provision for Additional Support for Learning (Appendix 8)
- Implications of Proposed Reduction in Class Sizes (Appendix 9)
- The Amalgamation of John Galt Primary School with Castlepark Primary School and Woodlands Primary School (Appendix 10)
- The Amalgamation of Towerlands Primary School with Broomlands and Fencedyke Primary Schools (Appendix 11);
- The Amalgamation of Corrie Primary School with Brodick Primary School (Appendix 12);
- The Amalgamation of Dreghorn Primary School with Springside Primary School in a new school (Appendix 13);
- The Re-Drawing of Catchment Areas for St Luke's Primary School and St Winning's Primary School (Appendix 14).
- That the shared catchment area in Kilbirnie should be allocated to specific schools, once any changed patterns of attendance arising from nursery and housing developments had been taken into consideration.
- That the construction of the new school at Montgomerie Park should proceed and that the resulting consultation on catchment areas should be undertaken.
- That further consideration should be given to provision for pupils with additional support needs in the light of information emerging from the survey of pupil and parental views.
- 1. Introduction
1.1 At its meeting on 27 June 2007, North Ayrshire Council agreed to set up a School Estate Review Group under the chairmanship of the portfolio holder for Children's Services.
2. Membership
2.1 The membership of the Review Group was:
- Councillor John Bell (Chair)
Councillor Willie Gibson
Councillor Jean Highgate
Councillor Alan Hill
Councillor Ruby Kirkwood
Councillor Pat McPhee
Councillor David Munn
3. Remit
3.1 The remit of the Review Group was to:
4. Background
4.1 Since North Ayrshire Council was established in 1996, there have been extensive changes in pupil rolls, population patterns, class sizes and educational provision in North Ayrshire schools.
4.2 In comparisons between Scottish local authorities, North Ayrshire has always been in a strong position with regard to efficient use of the school estate. With the exception of a small number of primary schools, mainly on Arran, North Ayrshire schools have generally been around the optimum 80% capacity banding.
4.3 The main reasons for this strong position have been:
- a. In contrast to the situation in some areas, Strathclyde Regional Council left few problems for North Ayrshire in relation to schools running well under capacity.
b. North Ayrshire did, however, inherit very limited pre-5 provision. The expansion in pre-school education has largely been effected by establishing nursery classes in primary schools, thus making good use of any emerging over capacity in the primary sector.
c. The current PPP programme, and an extensive building programme in the primary sector over recent years, have enabled the Council to plan schools of appropriate capacity.
a. The reduction in class sizes in primary and secondary schools.
b. The continuing decline in the 5-18 population, affecting schools in all sectors. The primary age school roll has declined by 14.8% between 1996 and 2007. Over the same period, the secondary school population has declined by 3.4%.
c. Changes in population distribution due to new house building, particularly in the Irvine area.
d. The current provision in the Council's capital plan for new schools at Montgomerie Park and Dreghorn.
5. The Work of the Review Group
5.1 The Review Group met on five occasions. The notes of these meetings are attached as Appendix 1.
5.2 The Review Group considered papers prepared by officers on the following aspects of school provision:
5.3 The Review Group considered the roll, condition and capacity of all North Ayrshire primary schools, identified groups of schools which required further study, and considered detailed papers on a range of proposals relating to possible rationalisation and changes in catchment areas.
5.4 Key factors taken into account by the Review Group in its deliberations were the quality of accommodation available to pupils, the practical implications for parents of transport to school, the continuing need for high quality nursery accommodation and the need for cost-effective management of the school estate.
5.5 The Review Group also looked closely at approved housing developments, patterns of placing requests and occupancy levels. The four amalgamation proposals all involve schools with occupancy levels of under 50%. The implications of proposed class size reductions were examined to ensure that such changes could be accommodated in the proposed amalgamations.
Recommendations
5.6 After lengthy consideration and discussion, the Review Group agreed to recommend to the Education Executive that the following proposals be taken forward for public consultation:-
5.7 The Review Group also agreed:
6.1 If the Education Executive agrees to accept the proposals of the Review Group, arrangements will be made to produce formal consultation documents on the proposals. The documents would be issued for public consultation between January and March 2008, with the results of the consultation then coming back to the Education Executive for consideration and decision.
7. Implications
7.1 There are both revenue and capital implications arising from the proposals. In the first full year of implementation, the proposals would produce a total saving to the Council's revenue budget of £601,000. However, as outlined in the relevant appendices, not all of the proposals would be implemented immediately. There would be both part year savings and one-off costs in the interim.
7.2 On the capital budget, the proposals would involve an additional commitment of around £620,000 in the Council's capital programme. This would be balanced against potential capital receipts for the school sites which would be released.
8. Conclusion
8.1 Acceptance of the Review Group's proposals would lead to more efficient management of the school estate and long term revenue savings.
| JOHN TRAVERS Corporate Director (Educational Services) |
Reference : JT
For further information please contact John Travers , on 01294 324411.
Background Papers :
Committee Reports and Agendas
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